HKSM

A visual technique that plots stakeholders by their level of influence and interest to guide engagement and communication strategies.

Key Points

• Often presented as a power-interest grid that groups stakeholders into quadrants.
• Helps prioritize who to manage closely, keep satisfied, keep informed, or simply monitor.
• Informs tailored communication: message content, frequency, and channels by stakeholder segment.
• Should be updated as stakeholder influence, interest, or project context changes.

Example

On an enterprise software rollout, the executive sponsor is high influence/high interest (manage closely), the compliance department is high influence/low interest (keep satisfied), end users are low influence/high interest (keep informed), and a distant vendor is low influence/low interest (monitor). The team schedules weekly check-ins with the sponsor, quarterly briefings for compliance, monthly newsletters for users, and occasional status notes for the vendor.

PMP Example Question

During stakeholder engagement planning, a project manager wants to classify stakeholders by their influence on the project and their level of interest. Which tool should the manager use?

1. Stakeholder mapping
2. Communication requirements analysis
3. Risk probability and impact matrix
4. RACI chart

Correct Answer: A — Stakeholder mapping

Explanation: Stakeholder mapping visually positions stakeholders by influence and interest, guiding engagement choices; the other options serve different purposes.